ballinwang

Hi, I recently bought this from Ebay for $400 and was wondering if it was a good purchase. Everything was in Excellent condition except the tires which I needed to replace. Is 400 a good price for it? It has a 58cm Frame so would it fit a 5'8 to 5'9 person? Deciding whether or not to give it to my brother or keep it to myself.
HERE's the DESCRIPTION:
Classic Peugeot Road Bike
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From what the original owner has told us this is a 70s PX10. This as had braze ons added for the cables, shifters and bottle mount. Paint is a very nice refinish in blue with a large amount of metallic flake. The Nervex lugs are painted black as is factory for these bikes. The pictures do not due the paint justice

Campagnolo Record Front Derailleur
Tubular wheelset with Simplex skewers
Simpelx Rear Derailleur
Simplex Shifters
Ideale Saddle
Simplex Seatpost
Specialized Headset

It is in amazing condition but could use new tubulars as they are atleast 25 years old and dry.

seat tube-
56cm center to center, 58 center to top

3alarmer 

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...yeah, 400 bucks is OK for a PX-10 in decent original paint.
You're probably gonna need to wither rework the wheels for clincher rims or deal with tubulars, which area major PIA.

If it's gonna be ridden aggressively, you probably ought to consider replacing the stem and bar with something a little newer.

Kactus

I think you did well. In that condition I would expect to pay that much for one locally in the more common white.

Personally, I'd stick with tubulars. There is a bit of learning curve with them but once you figure it out, it's not a lot more difficult than clinchers. And while modern clinchers are very nice, they still can't match the ride of tubulars IMO.

jj1091

It's not a bad price, but most C&V folks prefer an original-paint bike, and original un-molested frames. The decals aren't a good reproduction, and the fork crown shouldn't be painted black. However, it has both the fancy Nervex head-tube lugs and fork-crown lugs, so that's a plus. As a purchase for resale, it would be hard to get $400 for it, as there's a bunch of original ones out there, and you couldn't take this one back to original without significant cost.

Size-wise, 58cm is the top of my size, and I'm 5'-9" with a 30" in-seam, so it might fit you. Go ride it, then you'll know.

bikemig 

You did fine on eBay for the bike but it may end up being a bit on the large size for you. I like this bike a lot. Some may scoff a bit because it's been refinished but who cares, it's your bike. Back in the day no one thought twice about refinishing a nice bike if it needed one.

oddjob2

Nice bike, you did fine. I am 5’9” and typically ride a 58cm.

obrentharris 

I think you got a very good deal at $400. Probably the repaint scared away some of the higher bidders but it looks from the photos like it was very nicely done.

In the old days we would say that if you can stand over the top tube with about an inch of clearance between the top tube and your crotch, then the bike fits you. Since then we have figured out that fit is a little more complex than that but it should at least get you in the ballpark. There are plenty of articles on line about how to fine tune the fit.
Brent

DMC707

Good looking bike-doesn't really matter what it's worth now since you already bought it right?

French fit was popular when this bike was new so it may fit you just fine with the French fit riding position.

I've been perplexed at times when I When i was new to C&V about why the seat post is so short in a lot of older bicycles , but they did not fit them the same -- The pendulum started to swing towards smaller frames and more modernish positioning in the 80's i think

randyjawa 

In my opinion, $400.00 for a decent PX10 is a good deal! I have a touch more than that invested in mine and would not sell it for less than a grand, but that is just me. Anyway, if it fits, the PX10 will offer a ride quality that is hard to beat. My bike, my second PX10, impresses me every time I take it out for a spin...

ballinwang

So the bike arrived about a week ago, and I've ran into a problem. It seems that the rear jockey wheel of the Simplex S001 has been chipped and in need of a replacement. The derailleur has been unreliable and slipping all over the place. As I have set the original tubular wheels aside to get rebuilt, I have switched to some cheap vintage Araya wheels with a 5 speed freewheel that's in need of replacement. I'm thinking of replacing it with a 7 speed freewheel. Should I just get a new jockey for the plastic Simplex RD and will it work with the new freewheel, or should I replace the derailleur all together? If I should replace it, do any of you have suggestions?

jj1091

I went with the OEM Simplex Criterium RD, and mine works excellent. They can be a bit pricey, and currently there aren't any for sale on the US Ebay. Here's one available from Ebay France, $51, with jockey wheels. Replacement Simplex wheels would probably cost at least half that amount, so with an OEM derailleur, it's a good deal.

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/DERAILLEUR-A...cAAOSwLEtYgQkM

wrk101

Many people just salvage jockey wheels off a broken/scarred up Suntour RD. Typical co-op item.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...erailleur.html

ballinwang

Would the Campagnolo Nuovo record RD from 1973 work? I found one with the bullseye jockey for 50 on eBay.

bikemig 

No, not without modifying the rear drop out.

Here is the info on your rear drop outs:

Derailleur Hangers Demystified - Red Clover Components

If you want to get away from simplex RDs, you might want to consider a first generation dura ace, a crane RD. You'll need to tap out the drop out (which is currently not threaded) but you won't have to take a file to the drop out to fashion a stop. One of the C&V members has a PX 10 set up in this way.

The link I gave you from red clover has an explanation for what your options are with that rear drop out.

Here is the BF member with a PX 10 running a shimano crane (which is a first generation dura ace) rear derailleur. It is likely a better rear derailleur than most of the simplex units you are likely to find (other than the simplex super LJ which is expensive as heck). The shimano cranes can also be found in a long cage if you want to get a bigger freewheel in the back.

Here is the BF member's PX 10 with a crane RD:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...al-number.html

ballinwang

So I'm thinking I'd have to stick with Simplex if I don't want to modify the dropout? What's your recommendations as buying a replacement jockey for the already crappy Simplex would cost almost the same price as replacing it? I just need a good RD that could be used on a 7 speed freewheel and that works well for daily commuting.

bikemig 

The easiest is to run a RD with a claw; the red clover site has a discussion. Second easiest (and the one I'd likely do) is to tap out the drop out and run a shimano crane rear derailleur which is what the BF member did with his Peugeot PX 10 that I linked to. Post 20 has a discussion of this.

There is a 3d possibility which is to go on a treasure hunt. You could put up a WTB in the C&V for sale section to see what shows up. I'd also check out the local bike shops to see what they might have. I have found old French parts at very reasonable prices that way.

ballinwang

I don't want to do any modifications to the frame itself so I'm looking for a one step solution. The website says that the Shimano Crane and Campagnolo Rally RDs fit without any modifications. Is that true? Or would the RDs with a claw work?

bikemig 

No, they require modifications in that you will need to run a tap to thread the drop out.

If you do not wish to touch the drop out, the best bet is to run a treasure hunt for the jockey wheel and/or a rear derailleur by putting up a WTB in the C&V for sale forum as well as checking out the bins in your local bike shops. If there are old shops around, you'd be surprised what you might find.

Second best bet is to run a rear derailleur with a claw.

Here is another thread with useful info,

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-dropouts.html

ballinwang

I've went to my local bike shop today that specializes in vintage bikes repair. When the worker looked thru their parts bin to find a suitable french RD for me, they found a Gipemme SLJ 6600 and said it would work fine for my bike. It was $15 so I thought it was a good investment. Would it work and if it would, what's the max size freewheel I could use with it?

bikemig 

You got a heck of a good deal on your treasure hunt. Gipiemme rebranded Simplex derailleurs. I assume this is a rebranded super LJ 6600 which is one of the best vintage derailleurs ever made. Max freewheel for the super LJ according to Sutherlands is 24 teeth. Here is a thread suggesting you might be able to handle a larger freewheel.

Simplex Prestige Super LJ derailleur (SLJ6600)

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-capacity.html